Each of these letters consists of three parts: 1. The introduction, specifying some characteristic from the vision of the preceding chapter, which is appropriate to the need of the church addressed. 2. A description of the condition of the church. 3. A promise to the overcomer, following the successive revelations of God in the Old Testament, which begin with the tree of life and include the manna, the conquest of Canaan, the glory of the Temple, and the reign of Solomon.

We may go far in outward activity for the cause of the Redeemer and yet be threatened with the removal of our candlestick. Full of labor, opposed to wicked men and false teachers, persistently orthodox, not fainting in the day of trial; and yet, if love be wanting, nothing can compensate. Is the complaint true of us, that we have lost our first love? The exuberance of its emotion may have passed with the years, but has it been replaced by a deep, all-constraining, and masterful devotion to our Lord? It is the Spirit’s prerogative to shed abroad his love in our hearts and to teach us to love him. But none of us can acquire that love without perpetually

From Painting by JEAN L. BE. Metssonrpr. Modern French Artist.

Revelation 2: 8-11. This epistle has a new pathos and significance if we connect it with “the blessed Polycarp,” who almost certainly was the angel or chief minister of the church in Smyrna. He was the disciple of John. Ireneus who lived a generation later, tells how, in early boyhood, he had heard from the lips of Polycarp what John had told him of our Lord’s person, converse, and earthly ministry.

How sweet the comfort of this epistle must have been to him in the closing scene of his life, when, at eightysix, he was sentenced to be burned! Notice how every line of it had a message for him, as for all who are called to follow in his steps. The Saviour reminded him that beyond the suffering of this brief life a crown awaited him, which would abundantly reward his fidelity.

What music there is in those inspiring words! Even Peter’s crown of glory and Paul’s crown of righteousness seem to fade in comparison with this “crown of life.” The thought of it enabled Polycarp to say at the stake, “T give thee hearty thanks that thou hast brought me to this hour, that I may have my part in the cup of thy Christ, unto the resurrection of eternal life, through the operation of thy Holy Spirit.”